Stocks are mixed as midday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) staging a modest comeback -- last seen up 56 points -- thanks to upbeat earnings reports from energy names like index member Chevron (CVX). The S&P 500 Index (SPX) is just below breakeven, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) is swimming in red ink following dismal quarterly reports from the likes of Amazon.com (AMZN) and Apple (AAPL). Despite today's volatility, all three major benchmarks are pacing for substantial weekly and monthly wins. Wall Street "fear gauge," the Cboe Market Volatility Index (VIX), meanwhile, is headed for its biggest monthly drop since March.

Lithium Americas Corp (NYSE: LAC) is seeing a surge in call activity today, with 11,000 calls across the tape so far today, which is four times the intraday average and nearly 10 times the amount of puts traded. The most popular contract by a wide margin is the November 30 call. Last seen up 6.3% to trade at $29.65, after TD Securities initiated coverage on the Canada-based resource company with a "hold" rating and a $36C price target. Today's pop, with a little help from the ascending 10-day moving average, put the equity at a new all-time high, surpassing its Jan. 19 peak of $28.75. Year-to-date, LAC is up 131.8%.

Near the top of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today is Retail Value Inc (NYSE: RVI). The reason for today's positive price action is unclear, but RVI was last seen up 25.2% at $6.41 to trade at its highest level since January 2020, though earlier the stock fell as much as 75% in pre-market trading thanks to some short squeeze action. Year-over-year, Retail Value stock has added 186.3%. The equity is pacing for its fifth-consecutive monthly win, as well as its biggest single-day percentage pop in at least two years. 

Near the bottom of the NYSE is Zendesk Inc (NYSE: ZEN), which was last seen down 20.5% at $94.80. The software development name is being blasted with bear notes today, despite the company posting third-quarter profits that fell in line with analysts' estimates, and revenue that topped expectations. The brokerage bunch is instead, wringing their hands over Zendesk's $4 billion acquisition of SurveyMonkey, which Jefferies called "thesis-changing." Zendesk stock is now trading at its lowest level in over a year, sporting a 33.2% year-to-date deficit.